When we talk about being green, or our carbon footprint, it is more than just buying the next hybrid car. Being green involves lifestyle choices: what clothes to buy, where to buy them, considering how they are made, where they are made...the agonizing list continues. In this global economy our choices are many and their effects even greater, especially when it comes to food.
I am currently reading Barbara Kingsolver's book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle", one family's testament to green agriculture--that they could eat only what they could grow or at least buy locally. As she puts it, "This was the year we made ever attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we really knew..."
In the first chapter in a section entitled "Oily Food" she puts into perspective the dirty truth that our seemingly innocent grocery store veggies are hiding under their waxy skins, "Americans put almost as much fossil fuels into our refrigerators as our cars...about 17% of our nation's energy use...If every US citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week..."
Kind of shocking when put so concisely. Other good sources for this type of information are: Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" or if you are more visually inclined, the documentaries "King Corn" and "Food Inc.".
I'll keep you posted, more insights from Barbara as I continue reading...
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